Former star pitcher Lee Smith returns to Midland

Jordan MasonMidland Repoter-Telegram

Published 5:45 pm, Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Photo: Cindeka Nealy

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Former Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Lee Smith reactas to the question of how it feels being known as one of the greatest closers in baseball history Wednesday during the West Texas Sports Banquet at Midland Country Club. Cindeka Nealy/Reporter-Telegram less

Former Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Lee Smith reactas to the question of how it feels being known as one of the greatest closers in baseball history Wednesday during the West Texas Sports ... more

Photo: Cindeka Nealy

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Ramon Valles looks at some to the sports memorabilia up for auction Wednesday before the start of the West Texas Sports Banquet at Midland Country Club. Cindeka Nealy/Reporter-Telegram

Ramon Valles looks at some to the sports memorabilia up for auction Wednesday before the start of the West Texas Sports Banquet at Midland Country Club. Cindeka Nealy/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: Cindeka Nealy

Former star pitcher Lee Smith returns to Midland

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The first time Lee Smith left Midland, he had no intentions of returning, after Midland Cubs manager Randy Hundley moved him from the starting rotation to the bullpen.

"The team was going to Shreveport, and one of my buddies on the team said, 'Hey, Smitty, you're carrying a lot of clothes on a two-week road trip,'" Smith said. "And I'm like, 'Hey, I'm going on a road trip for the rest of my days.'"

Yet, after a brief hiatus, Smith did return to Midland, and Tuesday, 32 years after leaving for Triple-A Wichita, he returned to Midland for the first time since his stint with the Cubs, this time with 1,022 games, 1,251strikeouts and 478 major league saves under his belt.

Smith, a seven-time all star who spent the majority of his 17-year major league career with the Cubs, reflected on his time in Midland and what he learned in his baseball career Tuesday as the keynote speaker at the 21st annual West Texas Sports Banquet and Memorabilia Auction at the Midland Country Club.

Of course, a large part of his reflection was on how different the Permian Basin is from how he left it in 1979.

"I wasn't sure I was in Midland when I came here because I don't remember seeing a whole lot of paved roads when I was here," Smith joked during his speech.

That Smith was able to joke about his time in Midland was a sign of how far he'd come after leaving the Midland Cubs in 1978 and joining the basketball team at Northwestern State in Louisiana in resistance to his move to the bullpen.

"They made me a relief pitcher, and in that era, it was like a slap in the face being a relief pitcher," Smith said.

But after Cubs Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Williams urged him to give it a chance, Smith returned for the 1979 season as a reliever and earned a promotion to Wichita for the 1980 season. The rest, as they say, is history.

Despite being one of the great relievers of his time, Smith has yet to earn his own Hall of Fame nod, something the Jamestown, La., native said doesn't bother him these days, considering he never figured he'd get to play in the majors. When Cubs scout Buck O'Neil told him he'd been drafted out of high school in the second round of MLB draft, Smith asked him if he meant for the Army.

"Just to think, I came from that small town, and I'm on the same list with Babe Ruth and all those guys. It's an awesome feeling," Smith said. "It gives you goosebumps just thinking about that."

And that's why Smith -- now living in Shreveport, La., and working as a roving minor league pitching coordinator for the San Franciso Giants -- was all smiles when he returned to Midland for the banquet Tuesday, happy to give back in any way to the town that he said gave so much to him.